A "Shady" Wedding

You may be confused by the title of this post, but I will explain.  First of all, this is Jen posting- which I need to make clear since I do not usually write.  I have a group of best friends from high school and we call ourselves the Shady 5.  If I tried to explain why we call ourselves that or what exactly that means, you probably wouldn't understand anyway.  It would involve things like a time capsule, a street sign, an eagle flying at midnight, and MTBOWA.  So- a couple weekends ago, Steph, a Shady 5 member, got married.  What made it even more special is she married her high school sweetheart, Kyle.  It was a beautiful wedding and a REALLY fun, crazy reception.  Congratulations Steph and Kyle!!

the beautiful, happy couple

the Shady 5

 

Rob and I had to take a picture of us dressed up since it doesn't happen very often

an emotional toast

cutting the cake

and some crazy pictures from the dance floor

Over Achiever

On Monday Aiden checked a couple more "firsts" off his to-do list.  In the morning he decided it was time to sit up solo.  He did pretty good...it kind of looks like he even surprised himself.  Keep in mind though that 2 seconds after these pictures were taken he was on the ground in a crumpled heap.  Well, you gotta start somewhere.

Later that day the adventurous spirit continued as we decided to give Aiden a go at solid food.  Now 'solid food' is really anything but.  The soupy mixture of formula and rice cereal that we gave him did not seem too far off from his usual diet.  But it did come via a spoon so that is different.  Here are some pictures from the solid food saga.  Tensions ran high, and emotions ranged from curiosity to disgust to indifference to pure rage.  Observe...

You can really see in this video Aiden's initial skepticism of this whole 'solid food' idea.  He does  seem to come around in the end though.

Family Time

Before Gwyn left on saturday we all had some time to hang out together at Mom and Dad Jones' house.  It was a nice chance for the whole family to be together (and also a prime opportunity for some family pictures.)  Here we are- looking suave.

And here we are looking a little crazy.

One Cool Customer

Most people who read this blog probably already know about our sister Gwyn's job in Uganda. But maybe you don't so I'll tell you about it.  There is a school (in Uganda) called Uganda Christian University.  It is a Christian college similar to many that we have here in the states.  The University has a division called the 'Uganda Studies Program'- this program provides an opportunity for students from the U.S. to spend a semester abroad at Uganda Christian, and this is the program that Gwyn works for.

Gwyn has been home to visit for the last few months, and it's been great.  But now her time here is finished and she is heading back to Uganda for the fall semester.  It has been so, so nice to have her here with us lately.  We've loved spending lots of time hanging out, catching up, even going on vacation together.  We also have loved that this visit home has provided Gwyn the chance to be with our son.

Gwyn's flight back was Saturday night.  It's a loooong flight, and with the time changes and layovers and what-not she is probably still in the process of traveling right now.  We just wanted to let her know how much we appreciated having her home this summer, and how much we'll miss her in the coming months.  As you read this, please pray for Gwyn and her travels, and also for her work in the coming semester.

We love you Gwyn, lets Skype soon!

Vacation Land- Part II

We've got lots of great traditions at the Maine Cabin.  Some examples: We play board games at night.  We go fishing and come back empty handed.  We go to Deerbrook Cove to look for moose.  We take a sauna and jump in the lake ( can't believe we broke this one this year- what were we thinking?)   But there is one tradition that trumps all the rest in it's place in Maine cabin lore: the Big Pan Breakfast.

Let me explain.  When we moved into the cabin years back it came fully stocked with a treasure trove of knick knacks and dusty furniture compliments of the former owner.  Most of these items have slowly but steadily made there way to the great dumpster in the sky, but one holdover, the Big Pan, will never ever leave.  

This pan is not big in the conventional sense.  It is probably larger then the dining room tables found in your average New York City apartment.  It has a handle the size of a baseball bat.  It is huge, and it is awesome.  Big Pan breakfast is pretty self explanatory.  You make breakfast in a big pan.  Thats it.  Here it is:

Yes, those are 'big pan banana skewers' in there with the pancakes.  Don't knock it till you try it!  But then knock it because it really doesn't work that well.  Apparently bananas and bacon grease do not a delicacy make.

 

Here is NEW tradition this year that I think may carry over into the years to come.  It's called: taking hundreds of picture of our baby!  Ignore the fact that most of these could be taken at home on our living room couch, I promise that they are 100% all natural certified Maine originals!

Another newer tradition ( I'm just making up traditions left and right here) is to go out to dinner at one of the lodges that are on the lake.  They all have nice dining halls with tasty food, and there is nothing like a nice bumpy boat ride home to settle your stomach.

These next pictures are in no way tradition-related.  They are just pictures of us hanging out in a place called Maine.

Ah yes, now here is another tried and true tradition.  Its called 'the family picture.'  Usually towards the end of our stay we are all herded together for another year's christmas card photo shoot.  So here is the Jones family striking some poses...

Don't be surprised if you see this picture in your mailboxes in 6 months.  

Or then again, maybe we'll use this one.

Ok, well I think thats it for this year's Maine vacation. Thanks for sticking with us, and hopefully you didn't quite reach the point of vacation picture over-saturation. 

 We had a great, relaxing, blessed time. It is in no way an exaggeration to say that we are already looking forward to next year...